Wednesday, April 2, 2008

This and That

Some odds and ends:

As I was carrying my seedlings to the coldframe this morning I heard the strangest sound. Some sort of rumbling from over the neighbor's fence.

Oh yeah, I recognize that racket. He thinks his lawn needs mowing! Is that possible already? I guess so. I doubt Fletcher would be doing it for his health. Amazing. I think spring is officially here when lawns need mowing. Ours doesn't although it's nice and green already.

Remember when I bought these for work because my feet were killing me?

Well, my feet are still killing me. And since I have falling arches I purchased these;

They didn't work. My arches didn't hurt yesterday but for some reason the inserts squished my toes up so badly I thought my feet were going to fall off. So today I'm going to use these old standbys and see how that goes. I got the lovely falling arch thing after being on my feet for 12 hour shifts at Micron.

Our new furniture has arrived and we're thrilled with it.

Looks as if we'll be having company for the summer! We're excited. More on that in a later post.

I was out checking the garden today and saw this.

At first I thought it was a lily coming up but it's still early for them. Then I realized it is one of the Fritillaria imperialis or Crown Imperials, that I transplanted around the garden last year. I hope they do well this year.

I also saw peonies budding, both herbacious and tree;

The lysimachia punctata 'Alexander" is showing;

In the shade garden I see both the Polemonium 'Stairway to Heaven' I planted last year are alive.

And of course, the Bishop's Weed is back. I enjoy the coverage this plant provides, but be warned, it will spread like crazy if you let it.

I did a double take when I saw this;

Seems really early for a strawberry bloom, Fragaria or not, but I'll have to trust it knows what it's doing.

I decided to try the Winter Sowing idea I saw on Connie's blog. Yeah, I know, it's not winter anymore. Here's my reasoning; we're still getting freezing temperatures here at night, I want to get a feel for the winter sowing idea, I'm out of light space in the spare bedroom and I got these milk jugs free from work! Justification enough? Works for me.

I planted all three with white foxglove seed;

I like to stuff the area underneath the flowering crab with them.

Next year I'll put some in the moongarden also.

And last thing, I talked my husband into a small act of vandalism. Well, maybe not vandalism. Let's call it "borrowing", shall we?He went down to the house on the corner of our block, which is for sale, and snipped a couple of these;

We've always admired their weeping pussy willow tree and these were simply suckers coming up from the bottom. So, really, we're doing the future owners a favor, right?And in about five years we hope to have our own little weeping pussy willow.

Have you ever tried Birkenstock shoes? They are the best when having to walk or stand for a long time. They have an integrated footbed, which helps especially for arch problems. It does take some time to get used to them, but after a couple days you can wear them all day without your feet getting too tired. I got all mine from qvc and there are many different styles. I pretty much wear them all year round now.

I'm so sorry about your arches!! My fella has similar failing arches and he won't wear a pair of shoes without his orthodics. I mentioned getting a spare pair, and he said it was really expensive. Now, he's not an expert, but it's his opinion that the ones they make from a sand imprint are worthless. When he lived in California, he went somewhere that looked at the angles at his ankles and knees and hips and tailored the insole using that information.

I realize this isn't all that helpful, but it's all I've got. I do have an endorsement for birks, though. Last time I checked, they make some with extra high arches - and I bet they have a style that would be appropriate for work.

LOVE the pics. I need to go poke around in my yard. I've been so obsessed with the greenhouse that I haven't even checked my peonies and irises yet!

http://www.goodfeet.com/ changed everything for me. It was expensive, but the inserts have lasted me YEARS and I can buy cheaper shoes as long as I put those inserts in them. My aunt sold me on Good Feet and neither one of us have ever looked back.

I'm sorry your feet hurt but your furniture looks great! And so do your flora photos, as usual. You're so good with the camera!

Your photography is nice to see and all the planting techniques. Have you heard about using bales of straw to plant vegetables in? It really works. The bales need to be conditioned with water and then water and 10-10-10 fertilizer but on my do they work. Do a search for baled straw gardens. I saw the photos.

Abraham Lincoln in Brookville, Ohio now playing the part of a Mrs. Zac Efron's employee.

Wow a post of this and that indeed!Nice furniture! The chaise looks very cozy and inviting, a great place to curl up with a book, or gardening magazine or seed catalog :)I have bishops weed too, it is a pretty ground cover~does its job well in sun or shade! It does seem early for strawberries to be blooming..:D but who are we to argue with mother nature!!Nice post! Nice blog!Have a great week!Cat

How are your winter-sown foxglove coming along? You were not late in WSing; frost overnight is good. I've even used the same technique later in the season to "spring sow," which works fine so long as the seeds don't need stratification.~ Monica

Who We Are

Kim and Victoria

Follow by Email

LinkWithin

Subscribe by Email

"I only went out for a walk and finally concluded to stay out till sundown, for going out, I found, was really going in." ~John Muir, 1913, in L.M. Wolfe, ed., John Muir, John of the Mountains: The Unpublished Journals of John Muir, 1938